Hey there, Strands heads, I’m back to solving yet another puzzle. Gosh, today’s game was one heck of a bumpy ride. I so wasn’t ready for it, and I moved to and fro in between the grids to make some sense out of it all. Well, thankfully, I had some help. Read on to find out, as I take you through the NYT Strands for March 20!
What is the Theme for Today’s NYT Strands?
As revealed by the New York Times, the theme for today’s Strands is “Back and forth”.
I wish I could say that today’s Strands was an easy one. It was far from that, and probably my worst game so far. But, yes, I had no chance at today’s game and needed the help that I got. You’ll find out what I’m talking about soon.
Oh, by the way, if you are new to this game and want some help learning it, check out our guide on how to play NYT Strands.
Spangram Hint for Today’s Strands
Spoiler Warning #1
Even though we have tried our best to be subtle, the hints below might partially spoil the experience. Proceed with caution.
When it comes to Strands, there are two categories of words in the game. The Spangrams are the ones you should be targeting first since the other regular theme words fall under it directly. Every Strands game has one Spangram that you need to decipher. Think of it as the main theme of sorts.
Uncovering the Spangram as early on as possible makes completing the game easier. The hint for today’s Spangram is “spell forwards, then backward”.
Theme Words Hints for Today’s Strands
Now, if you have figured out the Spangram from the above hint, figuring out the theme words will understandably be fairly easy. However, I don’t want to ruin it for you. Instead, here are hints to 2 out of 8 theme words that may help you:
- Hint #1: Neither morning nor night
- Hint #2: Speed Demon
Spoiler Warning #2 The next sections reveal the answers for today’s NYT Strands. So, I’d recommend not scrolling further if you are still solving the puzzle. However, if you are stuck, I suggest scrolling a wee bit to see the Spangram answer.
Spangram Answer for NYT Strands on March 20
The Spangram for today’s NYT Strands is PALINDROME.
For those unaware, palindromes are words that read the same way forwards as they do backwards. Palindromes are not limited to just words though and can also be numbers.
Keeping the Spangram aside, you have 7 theme words in today’s puzzle. This is the usual number of theme words in the game. However, these theme words were far from being straightforward this time around. Once you find the Spangram, they will be easier to find, for sure.
Anyway, with that being said, let’s go to the next section. However, proceed only if you are ready to take a look at the theme words.
List of Theme Words for NYT Strands on March 20
If you are still reading this, you are probably ready to see the answers. So, let’s take a look at today’s theme words in Strands:
- NOON
- LEVEL
- MADAM
- KAYAK
- CIVIC
- RACECAR
- ROTATOR
This was probably the most vague Strands game I have come across so far. I had no clue where to start, so uncovering unrelated words seemed the way to go. In the process, I made out NOON at the top right corner. And it turned out to be the theme word. At this point, I got a slight idea of what the theme may be about.
So, with that in mind, I found LEVEL starting at the third column and fifth row from the left. Maybe the theme was about finding words that are the middle ground of something, I thought. That was the end of my understanding, and I ran out of all wit here. Everything I spotted after that turned out to be an unrelated word. It was time for a hint.
The hint uncovered MADAM at the bottom left edge. What? I didn’t understand what Madam Strands was up to. I had to use up another hint and found KAYAK with it. After helplessly trying to find what other theme words Strands had hidden in plain sight for me, I gave up and used another hint. Got CIVIC from it, and the much kayak had made sense, it all went away.
I was stuck yet again and had to use a hint to mark a couple of words at the bottom right corner. I still couldn’t make it out. I had to take Akshay’s (our Content Strategist and my good friend) help to get me through it. He’s smart, at times. He instantly made out RACECAR from highlighted words. Forget that, man figured out what the theme today was all about as well as the Spangram. Oh yes, also called me stupid in the process (I’ll get back at you, Akshay).
After RACECAR, with Akshay’s help, PALINDROME as the edge-to-edge Spangram was a quick find. Finally, I single-handedly (sigh) unveiled the last word in the grids, and it turned out to be ROTATOR. With that, today’s Strands came to an end.
This was easily my biggest fail of a Strands game, having used four hints to get through it. But, don’t worry, I won’t give up this easily. As I pick up the broken fragments of my self-confidence from the ground, I’ll see you in another one tomorrow.
What about you? Did today’s Strands make you feel like a fool as well, or is it just me? How many hints did you use to solve today’s game? Let me know in the comments down below!
